Pit dislodgment jets for fruit pitting machine



Jan. 28, 1958 w. H. KAGLEY ETAL 2,821,

PIT DISLODGMENT JETS FOR FRUIT FITTING MACHINE Filed Oct. 17, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet l Jan, 28, 1958 w. H. KAGLEY ETAL 2,321,223

PIT DISLODGMENT JETS FOR FRUIT PITTTNG MACHINE Filed Oct. 17, 1955 2 sheets-sheet 2 M@, g, 3T 10 53 k A V United States Patent PIT DISLODGMENT JETS FOR FRUIT FITTING MACHINE William Herbert Kagley, Lindsay, and Bentley J. Milam, Strathmore, Calif., assignors to Lindsay Ripe Olive Company, Lindsay, Califl, a corporation of California Application October 17, 1955, Serial No. 540,709

1 Claim. (Cl. 146-27) The present invention relates to a machine for pitting fruit, such as olives, and in particular to improvements over certain features of the invention described and claimed in United States patent of Edward P. Drake, Fred J. Alberty, and William H. Kagley, No. 2,341,857, granted February 15, 1944, for Fruit Pitting Machine.

In removing pits from olives by a machine of the type identified above, the olives are individually, firmly grasped in a predetermined, aligned position while a punch enters from one end of the olive and is forced longitudinally therethrough while the die is reciprocating forwardly. During this operation, the olive is forced against a die member by the punch, and vice versa. The olive pit is pushed out through the end of the olive by the punch into a bore in the die member. Subsequently both punch and die retract.

The end of each punch is preferably provided with a circular knife circumscribing a shallow hollow or concave tip. The circular knife is desirable for accurately punching the olive pits in that it prevents the punch tip from sliding off the pit.

Difiiculties are sometimes encountered with punches of this type because pits occasionally adhere to the tips of the punches. This appears to be due to the formation of a partial vacuum in the hollow space between the surface of the tip and the surface of the olive pit engaged by the tip during the punching operation.

When this happens, the adhered pit should be removed before the punch is advanced to the next pitting operation. If the adhered pit is not removed, it will cause the next pitting operation to fail and may even sometimes break the punch.

Furthermore, the adhered pit should be removed from the end of the punch before the pitted impaled olive is stripped from the punch and dropped into the receptacle for pitted olives. collected from the machine will be contaminated with olive pits.

Accordingly, an important object of the invention is to provide in a machine of this general character, a means for safely and efiiciently dislodging olive pits that may inadvertently adhere to the ends of punches so that there will be no interference with the continuous operation of the pitting machine, and no collection of stray pits with pitted olives.

Another object is to provide in such a machine adjustable nozzle means mounted to operate in advance of the olive stripping means in the cycle of operations for continuously and precisely directing jets of fluid at the ends of punches for dislodging any pits inadvertently adhered thereon.

Other objects and advantages will appear from the further description in the specification and the illustration in the drawings.

In the drawings:

Figure l is a vertical cross-sectional view of the olive pitting machine, borrowed in general from Figure 27 of the patent referred to above, No. 2,341,857, and showing If this is not done, the pitted olives our novel water jet nozzle means mounted on the front end of an olive stripper means;

Figure 2 is a longitudinal sectional view taken on the line 2-2 of Figure 1 showing the nozzle means in operation to dislodge an olive pit stuck on the tip of a punch;

Figure 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Figure 2 showing details of the nozzle means;

Figure 4 is a fragmentary enlarged view of a portion of Figure 2 also showing details of the nozzle means; and

Figure 5 is a fragmentary enlarged view of the end of a punch, with a portion broken away, showing an olive pit stuck to the tip thereof.

In the fruit pitting machine described in the patent to which reference is made above, fruit, such as olives, is fed continuously to olive feeding chute means here indicated at 1. Spacer or gripper members 2 are fastened to links of an endless chain 3 in spaced relationship, such as to every third link, and initially serve to space the individual olives 4 as they roll or slide downward in chute 1 toward revolving drums 5.

As the olives 4 pass through chute 1, they seek their most natural rolling position. This barrel-like position is rapidly assumed no matter what the position of each olive as it is fed into the chute. The olive invariably assumes a position with its longitudinal axis transverse of the chuts 1 as it approaches drums 5.

A slot 6, cut through the bottom of chute 1 for a dis tance near its lower end, is not wide enough to affect the movement or position of the olives 4 but permits the narrow gripper fingers 7 to enter behind the spaced, aligned olives and close in upon the same to grip the olives 4 between a gripper finger 7 and a spacer member 2, as shown.

The endless chain 3 follows for a distance the contour of the drums 5, which form part of the punch and die mechanism. Partial views of a punch and a die member are shown at 21 and 28, respectively, in Figures 2 and 4.

A gripper finger 7 and a spacer member 2, while gripping an olive 4 between them, travel together in this relationship in a circular path with rotating drums 5 approximately to the position where the olive is seized by the punch 21 and the die 28, whereupon the spacer member 2 takes off tangentially and returns cyclically through an endless path. Gripper finger 7 is retracted by a cam action (not shown) and returns cyclically with the continuous rotation of drums 5.

The punches 21 and dies 28 are mounted circumferentially in spaced relationship with respect to each other on each of the two drums 5. Furthermore, the punches and dies are arranged in the peripheral regions of the drums in alternating relationship. The drums 5, in turn, are rotatably mounted in axially spaced relationship with respect to each other so that the punches on one drum are positioned axially opposite the dies on the other drum, and the dies on the first-mentioned drum are axially opposite the punches on the second-mentioned drum. This is accomplished by orienting and rigidly connecting the two axially spaced drums so that they rotate together as a unit.

During the continuous, cyclic operation of the fruit pitting machine, the punch 21 under the control of a cam follower 36 in a cam raceway 37 on a cam barrel 38 enters the olive 4 from one end and, at a later stage, is forced longitudinally therethrough by mutual advance of punch and die. The punch forces the olive against the die 28,

Patented Jan. 28, 1958.

of the olive, while the olive is supported by the die, into i a longitudinal central bore 8 extending into the die. The die has a tapered fruit receiving cup 42.

Later, when the die has withdrawn to the position shown in Figure 2, the pit is expelled from the front end. of bore 8 by the relative forward movement in the die 28 of a head 29 on a rod to the position shown in dotted lines in Figures 2 and 4-. The pit 20 is collected in a receptacle 34 for olive pits. The pitted olive, for clarity of reference, being numbered 9, is simultaneously withdrawn from the die 28 impaled on the tip of the punch 21. The impaled olive then is carried to slotted olive stripper 1-8 and is stripped from the punch 21 and dropped into a receptacle 22 for pitted olives.

Instead of the normal, desired operation described above where the pit 211 is temporarily disposed in the bore 8 of the die 28, while the punch 21 is withdrawn with the impaled, pitted olive, the following phenomenon sometimes occurs: The pit 20 sticks to the tip of the punch 21 as shown at 26a in Figures 2, 4 and 5. This is believed to happen because of the development of a partial vacuum in the hollow concavity 27 as air is expelled by the pressure of the meat-coated olive pit against the surface of the concavity 27 and a partial sealing of the concavity at the edge of the circular knife 26.

Unless the pit stuck at 20a, on the tip of punch 21, is promptly removed it will be dislodged when the impaled olive 9 is stripped from the punch tip by the stripper 18. Both the pitted olive and the olive pit will, in this case, be collected in the receptacle 22 intended only for the collection of the pitted olives. This will lead to difficulties in subsequent packing operations.

To avoid such difficulties the nozzle assembly 10 has been provided to dislodge the pit stuck at 29a before the pitted olive 9 is stripped from the punch tip 21. It should be noted that the stripping of the olive occurs between flanges or walls 23 whether the punch is retracting from right or left, and the pits should fall outside of these walls 23, and therefore necessarily before the end of the punch has been withdrawn to a point between the walls.

The nozzle assembly 10 comprises a nozzle holder 11 of ring type with a base flange 11a adapted to be bolted to a stationary bracket 25 on the olive stripper assembly 18. A cylindrical nozzle member 12 is mounted in the holder for axial and also rotatable adjustment therein, being fixed by 'a set screw 17. A longitudinal bore 13 extends from the intake end of the nozzle to a point short of the opposite end. The intake end of the bore 13 is tapped to receive a connection 15 on a water hose 16. Two jet bores 14 communicate radially with the bore 13. The angle between these bores 14 is designed to provide twin jet streams of water to service both sets of punches on the axially spaced punch and die bearing drums, the jets being directed to strike any pits adhering to the punches 'at a position outside the walls which define the olive stripping and depositing channel.

It will be apparent that water from hose 16 under service pressure will pass into bore 13, divide into two substantially equal streams in jet bores 14 and squirt at an angle in two pressure streams 19.

The nozzle member 12 is fixed in the holder 11 by the set screw 17 after properly adjusting the nozzle in the holder by rotation and sliding therein so that jet bores 14 are at equal angles to the vertical 33 passing through the center of bore 13, and the jets are directed to the correct circumferential position relative to the drums for proper timing as to punch retraction position. The angle between the jet bores 14 is predetermined so that in this position streams of Water squirting therefrom will be directed at the positions occupied by any pits 20a adhering to the tips of punches 21 at either side of the fruit stripping channel walls 23 as the punches approach the region of the olive stripped 18. Figures 2 and 4 show this positioning.

Figure 5 shows an enlarged detail of the tip 21 of a punch having a circular knife 26 encircling a hollow or concavity 27 at the tip of the punch. An olive pit 20a is shown adhering to the tip of the punch. As previously mentioned, this adherence of the pit may be due to the formation of a partial vacuum between the end of the pit and the end of the punch.

During operation of the machine, streams of water 19 are continuously projected from nozzle jet bores 14 with a suificient degree of force so that the water impinging upon any adhered olive pits 20a dislodges the pits from the tips of the punches 21 between the walls 23 and the retracted dies just before the pits enter into the zone Where the pitted olive is stripped from the punch for discharge into the .olive hopper 22. The dislodged olive pits drop into the hopper 34 for olive pits separated from the pitted olives.

Details of construction and structure of the nozzle and associated mechanism in the nozzle assembly, other than those described above, can be used. Instead of streams of water 19, jets of air, for example, can be used, if desired, to dislodge pits from the ends of the punches.

While the instant invention has been shown and described herein in what is conceived to be the most practical and preferred embodiment, it is recognized that departures may be made therefrom within the scope of the invention, which is not to be limited to the details disclosed herein but is to be accorded the full scope of the claim so as to embrace any and all equivalent devices.

What we claim as our invention is:

In a fruit pitting machine,a punch and a die cooperating with the punch, said punch and die being axially aligned and relatively reciprocable to push a fruit pit from the fruit into the die with the fruit left impaled on the punch, a wall through which the punch reciprocates, said wall having on one side a pit receiving means and on the other side a pitted fruit receiving means, and means for stripping pitted fruit from the punch as the punch retracts, and a fluid pit removing jet means for directing a fluid jet between said die in retracted position and said wall whereby pits which may be retained on the end of the punch are dislodged before said end is retracted to the side of the wall on which the pitted fruit receiving means is located.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,823,476 Smith Sept. 15, 1931 2,341,857 Drake et a1. Feb. 15, 1944 2,485,653 Peel Oct. 25, 1949 2,547,207 Harworth et al Apr. 3, 1951 2,558,205 Ashlock June 26, 1951 2,611,403 Schafer Sept. 23, 1952 2,631,628 Martin Mar. 17, 1953 

